The present invention relates generally to a vehicle body structure of a sedan-type vehicle which can provide a wider vehicle compartment than conventional sedan-type vehicles. More particularly, the invention relates to a center-pillarless vehicle body structure with a front swinging door and a rear sliding door.
Published Japanese Utility Model application No. 57-45420, published on Mar. 12, 1982 discloses a vehicle having a front and rear doors opposing each other without a pillar therebetween. In this published Japanese Utility Model Application, the swinging door is hinged onto the front edge of a single door opening and the sliding door is adapted to close the rear half of the door opening. The rear sliding door is suspended from guide rails for sliding movement therealong.
The present invention is an improvement of the body structure as illustrated in the foregoing published Japanese Utility Model Application.